Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale perform on Mountain Stage, recorded live at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, W.Va. Friends for more than three decades, the two had been trying to record an album together for many years. Finally, in 2012, they managed to arrange three days off at the same time. The result is Buddy & Jim, a collection of duets. The two wrote original songs for the project and selected a few covers like "The Train That Carried My Gal From Town," which was originally popularized by West Virginian Frank Hutchison.

Here, Miller and Lauderdale close their set with "Hole in My Head," the first song they wrote together years ago; it was famously covered by the Dixie Chicks on the hit album Fly. Lauderdale plays acoustic guitar during this set, while Miller plays lead on his obscure Italian Wandre electric — a task he's routinely called upon to perform by Emmylou Harris and, most recently, Robert Plant. The two are joined by Nashville institution Fats Kaplin on fiddle and pedal-steel guitar.